Rageh Omaar is the BBC's Africa correspondent,
whose sterling work during the Iraq war made him a household
name. He was born in Somalia, and educated at Cheltenham Boy's
School and Oxford University, where he gained a BA in Modern
History.
He began his journalistic career as a trainee for the Voice
newspaper, and in 1991 he moved to Ethiopia where he freelanced
as a foreign correspondent, working mainly for the World Service.
A year later, he returned to London to work as a producer
and broadcast journalist for the BBC. He moved to South Africa
after being appointed the BBC's Africa correspondent.
During his coverage of the Iraq war, nearly 90% of the population
watched him on either the weekday BBC news bulletins, or on
News 24. Many of his broadcasts were syndicated across the
U.S., where the Washington Post labelled him the 'Scud Stud'.
Rageh has never forgotten his Somali roots and is a strong
advocate for the Somali community in Britain.
He is the recipient of an EMMA award for the best media correspondent.